Although traditional methods of teaching brass embouchure tend to favor a more centered mouthpiece placement, individual differences in facial structure may make a centered placement inefficient for many individuals. Thirty-four test subjects (N = 34) who volunteered from a mid-sized, Midwestern university school of music, a mid-sized Midwestern high school, and professional and semiprofessional trombonists from around a Midwestern state were tested for an efficient embouchure and then photographed while playing specific pitches into a transparent plastic mouthpiece. Additionally, each subject filled out a brief survey and had various facial characteristics photographed. Statistics from this data suggest that the three basic types defined by Doug Elliott, Very High Placement Type, Medium High Placement Type, and Very Low Placement Type, are accurate. Evidence also suggested that airstream direction and the use of an embouchure motion is dependant on vertical mouthpiece placement. The angle of the airstream also changes according to the register being played. It was also determined that certain physical characteristics, most notably lip protrusion, suggested that a subject will play with a specific mouthpiece placement. / School of Music
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/181980 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Wilken, David M. |
| Contributors | McAllister, Peter A. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | viii, 181 leaves : col. ill. ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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